Texas Basketball: 3 takeaways from dominant Big 12 opener win over WVU

On the late morning/afternoon of Jan. 1, No. 17 ranked Texas basketball and new head coach Chris Beard opened up Big 12 play against head coach Bob Huggins and the West Virginia Mountaineers. Texas came into this Big 12 opener with plenty on the line against a somewhat shorthanded West Virginia team under Huggins.

Nonetheless, the Mountaineers still came into this game with a good amount of momentum after getting through the non-conference slate with one win over a ranked opponent and just one loss otherwise. West Virginia was going to be a difficult opponent for the Longhorns out of the gates during the conference slate.

Marcus Carr and No. 17 Texas basketball get a big 15-point win over West Virginia to open Big 12 play

Beard and the Longhorns came into this game needing a marquee win on the resume to really prove that this team is a real contender in the Big 12. Texas didn’t have a single win over a ranked opponent coming into this game. At this point, getting this convincing 74-59 win over West Virginia at home at the Frank Erwin Center on New Year’s Day is the closest thing this team has to a win over a ranked opponent.

If you take votes into account, West Virginia is the No. 28 ranked team in the AP Poll this week. Thus, it is big for Texas to get this win to open up the conference slate. But Texas needs to keep this confidence up heading into a key stretch of the Big 12 slate next week.

Up next now for the Longhorns is a meeting with the Kansas State Wildcats on the road on Jan. 4.

Here’s a look into three takeaways from the Longhorns’ dominant win over the Mountaineers on Jan. 1.